Artist I Dancer I Performer
Julia Dougherty
(They/Them)
Julia Dougherty has over 15+ years of professional dance training. They were first introduced to the concert dance world when they attended high school at New World School of the Arts. This led them to begin their exploration into contemporary dance at the University of South Florida where they will be receiving their BFA in Contemporary Dance Spring 2026. Under the guidance of the esteemed USF faculty, they have honed their craft through contemporary, ballet, improvisation, choreography, partner work, and various dance history courses. Julia Dougherty has worked in residency with choreographers such as Roderick George, Saar Magal, Kelly King, Kate Weare, and Jennifer Archibald. They recently completed the University of South Florida’s Dance in Paris Semester Program where they worked with artists such as Nathalie Pubellier (Paris), Wanjiru Kamuyu (Paris), Heidi Wiess (Berlin), and Christian Denice (Amsterdam). Along with their collegiate endeavors Julia Dougherty has worked professionally in the Tampa Bay Area for three years as a Busch Gardens dancer, a children’s dance teacher, and as an adult dance fitness instructor.
Artistic Philosophy
Art is a conversation.
It is my core belief that every human is designed for dance. Movement is our fundamental form of communication. The birth of dance was a spark in the face of our need to express, find community, and experience joy. This heritage we carry allows for present-day movement to convey ineffable meaning via the conversation of emotions evoked through both its audience(s) and its artist(s). Contemporary dance personally allows me to perceive, comprehend, and interact with the world around me as my most authentic and transcendent self. In a world constantly succumbing to isolation, fear, and misunderstanding, it is my view that now more than ever we need to access this genetic right to reignite compassion and coexistence. My ambition is to converse with my audience on this human level, using movement to share not only my personal, indescribable perspectives of the world but also to give the space and respect needed to listen to and absorb the perspectives and experiences of my audience members. In totality, art uses the pathos of the human spirit to create a synergetic world of understanding. Art is a conversation, not a product.